Chapter Six
Harley
K nocking softly on Grayson’s door, it takes him a minute before he answers. “Hey, I know we have to go down and meet with everyone soon, but I wanted to check on you first.”
Brielle and the guys had to leave after breakfast this morning and get back to their jobs, although they promised to come back often. But during breakfast, Linc and Grayson sat together at a different table and talked the whole time. Afterwards, when we said goodbye to them, Grayson came straight up here.
Gesturing for me to come in, he shuts the door behind me and then leans against it. I walk over to his bed, which sits in the corner of his room, and sit on the end of it.
“It was weird.” He chuckles lightly. “Weird, but good. I don’t know. Linc is a lot like Liam. It’s just like talking to an older version of him, which is kind of throwing me off, but it was nice to visit with him and talk about Liam more.”
Sighing, he walks over and sits next to me but falls back onto the bed.
“He said the next time that they come, we will spend some time together if I want to, and he said we can talk more about the family and things that have happened if I want to know about it.”
Laying back next to him, I turn on my side, leaning up on my elbow. “Do you want to know more about your family?” I say softly.
“I think so?” His gaze goes distant for a moment before he blinks and focuses back on me. “But I don’t really want to think too much about that right now. We have a lot of other things to talk about.”
Humming in agreement, I run my fingers up his arm, watching goosebumps rise. Grayson lets out a small groan and gently pushes me back so I’m flat on my back and leans over me, an elbow on each side of my head as he wedges his leg in between my thighs.
When his knee hits my core, I gasp softly. He leans down and runs his tongue over my bottom lip before pressing his mouth against mine and twirling our tongues together. This new more demanding side of Grayson sends tingles throughout my body, and when he sucks on my tongue, I give in to the throbbing pulse in between my legs and rub against his thigh.
Gray pulls back slightly, watching me carefully. “I have never done anything like this before, but I’d like to pleasure you.” A flush works its way up his neck and to his cheeks.
“Please,” I breathe, and my heart beats faster in my chest as Grayson smiles.
His hand moves slowly down my stomach until he reaches my jeans. Without taking his eyes off me, he unbuttons them and pulls the zipper down before sliding his hand into them, gently running his fingers over my panties.
Grayson groans when he feels how wet I am. He pushes against my core, running a finger up and down my slit, and I groan, my hips rising so I can push against his hand.
He bites his lip. “Do you want more?”
“Yes. Are you going to make me beg?” I ask breathlessly.
Leaning in until our lips are touching, he whispers, “Never.” Then his hand moves under my panties just as his lips press against mine.
He slowly pushes one finger in, pumping in and out, his palm pressed against my clit. I moan against his lips when he adds a second finger, making my mind go blissfully blank with pleasure as I start to move with his hand, fucking myself on his fingers.
“You feel so good, beautiful,” Grayson says huskily, pulling away from my lips and watching my face intently as he picks up speed.
Gasping, my hands shoot out and grip his arm. “Don’t stop,” I moan, my eyes falling shut.
“Open your eyes for me,” he murmurs.
Snapping my eyes open and staring into his green irises, I fall apart on his hand, moaning loudly. “ Fuck , Grayson.”
I keep grinding against his fingers that are still pumping as I ride out my orgasm until my body goes lax on the bed. “You're so beautiful. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of watching you fall apart,” he says softly as he pulls his fingers out of me and then licks them clean.
“Grayson,” I groan, covering my face with my hands, feeling embarrassed.
Chuckling, he pulls my hands away from my face and kisses my cheeks, nose, and then my mouth. “I’ve always wanted to taste you. It was well worth the wait.” He grins as my face turns beet red.
Glancing down at the obvious bulge in his pants, I bite the corner of my lip. “What about you?” I whisper.
He shakes his head. “I just wanted to make you feel good. Don’t worry about me right now.”
Climbing off the bed, Grayson takes my hands and pulls me to my feet. Reaching down, he buttons my jeans back up for me. “Think Ry is going to be jealous?” he asks with mirth shining in his eyes.
I chuckle and take his hand as we walk to the door. I start to respond as he opens the door, but the words die on my lips when we are met with a scowling Ryker.
Glancing up at Grayson, I murmur, “I think he might be.”
“This is the second time! Next time, at least invite me to watch.” He crosses his arms over his chest, a pout curling his lips.
Sauntering up to him, I put my hands on his crossed arms and ask, “How do you know we did anything?”
Ryker’s pout drops and is quickly replaced with a cocky smirk. Uncrossing his arms, he grabs my shoulders and spins me around, pinning me against the wall opposite Grayson’s door. “You moan so beautifully. A sound that I am becoming all too familiar with. I can tell the second you are coming.”
He runs his knuckles down my cheek, making me shudder.
“Plus, you and Grayson have flushed cheeks, and your pupils are still blown from the orgasm haze,” Ryker adds.
Grayson clears his throat behind us. “We should probably, um, get downstairs.”
Ryker spins me back around, wrapping his arm around Grayson’s shoulders and starting to walk towards the stairs with me on his other side.
“Made our girl come and still are so shy,” Ryker chuckles.
“Shut up, Ry,” Grayson sighs and gently shoves Ryker away from him.
Going all the way down to the basement where they have the room they hold church in, Gabriel waits right outside the door for us. “We needed a room we know is safe to talk freely in, and that’s this one. Normally, no one but members would be allowed in here, but we are making an exception since we need to talk privately.”
Nodding, we follow him in, and Nerds waves Gray over to him while Ryker goes to stand along the side wall with Cade. Gabriel nudges me forward and takes a seat at the head of the table, pulling out a chair right next to him and gesturing for me to sit.
“Alright. Let’s start. Harley, how are you feeling about everything with Tammy now? I know it’s only been two days and there’s been a lot of other things happening, but are you ready to talk more about it? Do you need time? Do you even want to be involved now knowing what we have told you?” Gabriel spouts off question after question.
My eyes widen as I stare at him, realizing that everyone is waiting for me to answer now. I clear my throat and glance at Ryker, who gives me a soft smile and a head tilt.
“Before everything went to shit, the guys and I had talked a lot about how learning the stuff about Tammy is overwhelming and a lot to process. But we can handle it, together. As long as we all depend on each other and are honest with each other. I…” I hesitate, looking up at Gabriel as tears gather in my eyes. “I want to be a part of this. I want–I need her to be stopped and punished for what she has done and is doing.”
Gabriel nods once, then looks around the room. “Well, is everyone else in agreement? This isn’t going to be an easy task. It could take months, years. And there are a lot of risks that come with it. Is everyone prepared for that?”
Everyone in the room, including my guys, are quick to be in agreement. No one even seems hesitant to do this.
Colton speaks up next, “That brings us to the next big thing, how we want to handle it. We know about the ball; Nerds is workin’ on gettin’ us in somehow. But do we plan to just find them and call the cops? Are we handling it ourselves? Are we calling in other clubs?”
Gabriel clears his throat. “There are few other clubs around that I will contact and open the door for them to offer to help with everything or just be back up. But I think this is one , too personal to involve the cops and two , we all know how shitty they are around here. There is no way some, if not most, aren’t involved. So I say we call the Kings of Hearts.”
Axe sucks in a breath. “Rage, are you sure about this? We haven’t talked to him since everything else happened with Pres. It could—” He grimaces and shakes his head.
“We left things on good terms, and we have still been doing jobs for them. He told us ‘whatever we needed’. I think we are in a good enough place to bring them in on this. He’ll have more resources we can use,” Gabriel responds.
I furrow my brows, confused, but Ryker voices my thoughts first. “Who the fuck are you talking about?”
“The Brooks Family. Specifically, Vance Brooks. The boss of one of the largest gangs in North Carolina,” Axe almost growls, his fists clenched on the table. “We had a small issue with them a few years ago, but that was with Vance himself. Bringing in his whole gang though?” He shakes his head, pinching his lips together.
“Is he bad?” I ask, glancing around the table.
Gabriel tilts his head, contemplating his answer. “Yes and no. He isn’t someone you openly invite into your home, and he almost always has something up his sleeve, but he is a decent man and we do trust him. It just brings up a lot of shitty memories for Axe. The things that happened a few years ago were with Presley’s ex-husband and Vance. It got ugly.”
Oh, wow. I know Presley told me something happened, but I didn’t know it involved an ex-husband. I bite my lip to stop myself from asking more, we have other things to focus on, and it’s not really my business. Plus, Axe is wound up tight now. Coiled and ready to spring at any moment.
Nerds takes over the conversation from there, leading us into what we can do now. “Okay, so to start, over the last few days I have compiled a list of people who could potentially be involved whether it’s finding the people to sell, or buyers, or just people working for Tammy.”
He reaches under the table and pulls out a duffel bag. Opening it up, he flips it over and dumps out the contents onto the center of the table. Little black squares with blinking red lights pile up on the table.
“These are car trackers,” he explains. “In order to find where they take the girls first and where they go from there, we need to start tracking everyone’s movements. This is the easiest way to do that because these will store all the routes. After you place one, you tell either Grayson or me, and we will activate it and label it for whoever’s car it’s on.”
Grayson clears his throat, his cheeks tinting red. “I’ve been working on a map system to be able to easily track routes that are connected to each other and where they are all going. So, after we get them all going, I will keep the map updated daily, and Nerds and I will eventually be able to figure out where they take some of the victims.”
“Okay, so you have lists for us? Who are these people? Are we going to their homes or what?” Noah questions while twirling a switchblade between his fingers.
Grayson stands up and grabs a stack of papers from the small table along the back wall behind him. He brings them over to Gabriel before explaining, “Tammy and Richard obviously are first on the list. After that, there is everyone who has been paid from or paid money to the offshore account that is in Rage’s name. There are about twelve of them. A few haven’t had any kind of payments in months, but most… most have been paid or put money in the account in the last week.”
“We have home addresses for all of them, but you’ll also see the addresses to their jobs and the hours they work,” Nerds adds. “The license plate numbers and the VIN numbers are listed, so please make sure you verify it’s the right vehicle before placing the tracker. Grayson and I will stay behind and be available if anyone needs help or a guide.”
“Alright, these are split by location, so we will split up into pairs and each grouping will take a list and some trackers,” Rage says with a nod.
We spend the next half hour making sure everyone is clear on what they need to do and splitting up into pairings. I end up with Cade while Ryker is with Noah and Grayson is staying here with Nerds.
Cade lets me know we are taking his motorcycle, so I quickly run upstairs and change into warmer clothes, making sure to only wear black so I easily blend in with the night.
Returning back downstairs, I head out front to meet Cade at his bike. Gabriel stands a few feet away from it, scowling at Cade. Furrowing my brows, I wander around the side of the bike to stand next to Cade, where he faces off with Gabriel.
“What’s going on?” I question slowly, my eyes darting between their faces.
Colton approaches from behind Gabriel, sighing as he places his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder and pulls him back. “Come on, Rage. Nothin’ important, darlin’. Your dad is just goin’ through some phases as a new father.” He smirks.
Gabriel tenses and keeps staring down Cade but eventually huffs and turns around to go with Colton. Stepping in front of Cade, I whisper, “What was that about?”
Cade rolls his eyes. “He wanted to switch up the groups and have you go with him. I told him no.” He shrugs.
“Oh.” I furrow my brows. Does he not trust Cade?
Cade wraps his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me close to him, so I have to tip my head back to meet his eyes. “He was being overprotective. I get it. But I won’t be questioned on whether or not I can keep you safe. You’re mine,” he growls quietly, clenching his jaw as his fingers flex against the back of my neck before tightening slightly.
I feel a flush work its way up my neck and squeeze my thighs together before clearing my throat and pulling away. “Okay. Ready?”
His lips tilt up into a tiny smirk, but he doesn’t comment. He just grabs a helmet and straps it on my head before straddling the bike and putting on his own helmet. Holding out a hand for me, he helps me climb on behind him and starts up his bike.
Most everyone who is going out to place the trackers has already left, so we follow the last few out of the gates. As soon as we get onto the main road, I tighten my grip around Cade and enjoy the free feeling of the open air.
A little while later, we have placed three trackers and have two more to go. Everything has been smooth sailing so far.
Except the next one is unfortunately a judge. It’s disgusting how many people, especially ones in positions of power, might be wrapped up in the selling of others. It makes me feel sick to my stomach for the girls, boys, women, or anyone who may be out there right now suffering because of these selfish fucks.
How fucked up in the head do you have to be to treat human beings like this? I can’t wait for the day that we finally get our hands on some of these pieces of shit, and I get to take out all my rage on them.
Cade eventually turns off on a side road that I am pretty sure is not where we are supposed to be heading since according to the paper Grayson gave us, the judge lives in the middle of town. My brows furrow in confusion.
He pulls off to the side of the road and kills his bike, bathing us in darkness. “Cade?”
Pulling off his helmet, he hangs it from the handlebars and gets off the bike, leaving me still sitting on it. Cade pulls off my helmet and then grips my chin between his finger and thumb, tilting my head up so I look at him.
It’s so dark that I can just barely make out his facial features but can’t really see the color in his eyes.
“What’s going through your head?” he questions.
“What do you mean?” I ask, tilting my head slightly, trying to determine where this is coming from.
“I mean, you were doing good. We placed trackers, you had a smile on your face, you seemed fairly calm, but then your body tensed up and you were squeezing the life out of me the last ten minutes or so.”
Oh. Blowing out a breath I pull back slightly, letting his hand drop as I glance out into the darkness.
“I don’t know. I just feel frustrated with all of this. It feels like it will never actually end, and I will never get to see Tammy or Richard have to face everything they have done. I almost feel like–like I can’t truly move on without that. But I shouldn’t need it. I shouldn't need to see them suffer in order to move on with my life and heal from all their shit, but I can’t let go of my fury towards them, and it’s pissing me off.
“I feel like every time I take a step forward, something drags me back. I’m afraid that I’m not strong enough to truly let everyone at the club in and trust them. I don’t think I will ever be able to get past all my issues from when I lived with Tammy, and no one is going to want to deal with that forever—”
My words get cut off when fingers wrap around my throat and pull my head up towards Cade’s face. He slams his lips against mine and kisses me like he needs me to breathe—or maybe I need him to breathe.
The shock clears my mind in an instant, and I reach forward, gripping his jacket as he deepens the kiss.
Cade consumes me in the best way. He takes my control away yet makes me feel safe and wanted with just one kiss.
My mind feels empty of everything I have been overthinking by the time he pulls away, nibbling on my bottom lip before pressing his forehead against mine as we both breathe heavily.
Realizing I word vomited without meaning to and just let my thoughts get the best of me, I squeeze my eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” I mumble.
Cayden grunts and pulls me as close as he can with me still sitting on the bike, my forehead resting against his chest as he runs his hands up and down my back, soothing me.
“Don’t fucking apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong. You are allowed to ramble on and let out everything you are thinking and feeling. You should. I fucking want you to. But what you aren’t allowed to do? You aren’t allowed to let those thoughts and feelings spiral into thinking you aren’t strong or good enough. You are one of the bravest people I know, Harley. No one compares to you when it comes to your strength.
“You have survived hells no one should ever go through, especially not as a child. You have faced a club full of men knowing it could have ended completely differently, but you weren’t afraid of death. You laughed in its face and showed everyone just how fucking tough you are.”
Tears slowly roll down my cheeks as I press harder against Cade, wrapping my arms around his back and holding on tight.
His words bounce around in my mind. Not a single thing he said was uttered with anything but full confidence. He truly believes everything he is saying, and after knowing what he has been through in his life and how fucking strong and resilient he is, it makes me feel like I can conquer anything.
With Cade by my side. And Ryker. And Grayson. My boys.
A few days have passed since we placed the trackers, luckily all with no mishaps, and Grayson has been holed up with Nerds almost 24/7 monitoring them and creating a map of where they each overlap.
Today, I finally have to go back to school, and I’m not looking forward to it at all. Brielle and Linc had started helping me prepare for a GED test when I was living with them, but now that I’m here, Gabriel wants me back at school and graduating to get my diploma.
I know it would be a huge accomplishment, but the thought of going to school every day for most of the day feels pointless and like a waste of our time when we have so many other more important things to focus on.
Like Tammy and Richard and all the horrors they’re getting up to.
“Babe?” Ryker calls as he walks into my room, dressed in his normal dark hoodie and jeans. He comes towards the bathroom where I am finishing getting ready. “About done? We need to leave so you can check in at the office first.”
Letting out a breath, I nod. “Yeah. I’m ready,” I mumble, putting away my hair products from having just curled it.
Arms wrap around my waist from behind, and Ryker rests his chin on my shoulder. Glancing up into the mirror, I meet his eyes. “It’s going to be fine,” he assures me.
“You don’t know that,” I grumble. Slamming the drawer shut, I spin in his arms and stare straight at his chest. “I handle most interactions better now. But for most of the time I was at Bri’s, I never left. I didn’t want to. I was afraid and constantly felt this intense pressure and panic when I would leave.
“I feel like I’m stronger in some ways, but in others? Like going to a school filled with hundreds of other people? It makes me feel like I might pass out. That, and I just can’t stop thinking about all the other things we should be doing and focusing on instead of going to a fucking school for eight hours every day.”
“Little flame,” Ryker growls, and my gaze shoots back up to his. “It’s going to be okay. I swear.” There’s a glint in his eyes that makes me suspicious, but he just pecks me on the lips and grips my hand. “Come on, let's get going before we really end up being late.”
Cade, Ryker, Grayson and I all take Noah’s truck to school. Grayson, who is sitting in the back with me, reaches over and places his hand on my thigh that has been shaking nonstop since we left the club.
Glancing over at him, I bite the corner of my lip as I admire his fitted button-up shirt that is rolled up to his elbows and his dark denim jeans that hug his ass perfectly.
When he catches me staring, I sigh, “I feel ridiculous for being so scared to go back to school.”
“It’s not ridiculous, beautiful. I think it’s more than just the anxiety of going to school and being around so many people. I think it might also have to do with what this school relates to for you. You were forced here before, and life was not pleasant back then,” Grayson says softly as Cade grunts in agreement from the driver’s seat.
Ryker turns around to look back at us from the passenger seat. “Are you going to tell her your idea?” He raises a brow at Grayson.
Grayson’s cheeks tint pink, and he bites his lip, glancing between Ryker and me. “It’s nothing right now. I need more time,” he admits.
“What is it?” I question, my curiosity piqued.
Giving me a soft smile, he shakes his head and then glances out the window. “We’re here. We should head in right away so you can go to the office.” He changes the subject.
I narrow my eyes at him, but he just grabs his backpack and slips out of the truck.
Cade turns to look back at me. “You’ve got this, baby girl,” he murmurs and then hops out before I can respond. His endearment at least settles some of the nerves in my chest.
Ryker opens my door for me and takes my hand the second I get out. “I’m not letting go of whatever you guys are planning,” I grumble, causing Ryker to chuckle as he pulls me towards the school.
“I’d expect nothing less, babe. At least it distracted you enough to help you relax a little.”
As we get up to the main entrance close to the office, I have to remind myself to breathe and that everything is fine. This isn’t the same as it was before.
“Hey, you know we won’t leave your side, right?” Ryker says, pulling me closer to him.
I nod, and we walk into the office together.
“How did you even manage that?” I ask Grayson as we all walk towards our first class.
After we stopped in the office to check me in, they gave me my schedule and had me check in with the school's guidance counselor since Nerds was able to fake some records so it looked like I went to school in Virginia for all the months I was gone.
Afterwards, Ryker pointed out to me that at least one of the guys will be in every one of my classes so I don’t have to be alone at all. Talk about victory.
My shoulders relaxed at that, and I felt tears burn the backs of my eyes, but I quickly blinked them away.
“Nerds taught me how to hack into the school system,” Grayson responds with a sly smile.
Grinning up at him, I stand on my toes and give him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you.”
We don’t make it much farther down the hall before I hear someone hesitantly say my name. Spinning around, I find Lex standing a few feet behind us, her face scrunched up in confusion.
“You’re back?” Her eyes scan over the guys before focusing on me again.
A smile breaks out on my face, and I step forward, nodding. “Yeah. I’m back. I, uh, I missed you,” I say quietly.
The first real true friend I had and I just up and left her.
Honestly, I wouldn’t blame her for not wanting anything to do with me. Hell, I wouldn’t either.
Pinching her lips together, her eyes roam over me before she says, “I tried to see you after you just kind of disappeared, but your mom said that you were at a treatment facility. But then the guys talked to me a while ago and said you were staying with them? What’s going on? Are you safe?”
I nod and take a breath, feeling bad for lying to her, but I know I have to stick with the story that Nerds set up. “Yes, I’m safe. I found out about my birth father and wanted some time away to figure things out. I was at a school in Virginia the last several months, but now I’m back and staying with my dad,” I explain.
“I—” She frowns slightly before wiping it off her face and smiling at me. “Okay. I’m glad you're back. I missed you, too. We should spend some time together soon.”
I nod, and we exchange numbers, promising to do something soon. Lex walks with us down the hall, even saying hi to the boys and seeming okay around them. I know before she had her issues with them. I’ll have to remember to ask her about that later when we’re alone.
Lex and Ryker turn off to the left to go to their two classes while Grayson and Cade walk farther down the hall we are in to our first class we all have together.
While we walk, I ask them about Lex and when they talked to her.
“A while ago, we talked to her because we found out through the audio recorder in the Wilson’s house that she had gone over there, but we didn’t catch enough of the conversation. She really seems like she just wants to make sure you’re okay.” Grayson shrugs. “Plus, we’ve been keeping an eye on the Wilson’s house and the recorder, and Lex hasn’t been back there.”
“You really checked into her,” I say, furrowing my brows.
He frowns. “We needed to make sure she didn’t have bad intentions and needed to know what Tammy might be telling other people. She seems like a good person now that we understand her issues with us.”
Grayson continues on to explain how Lex said she has heard things about the club, like how it was run before Gabriel took over as the president and she doesn’t like that the boys walk around representing such a horrible place. Plus, she was worried about me getting involved. It angers me to find out that Steph has been holding something over her head to get her to help try and get Grayson away from the others. Just another reason to hate the bitch.
I’m not looking forward to running into her, but of course as my luck would turn out she is in my first class and immediately sets her eyes on–on Cayden?